Social networking sites, for example, Facebook™, MySpace™, and similar social network sites as well as Instant Messaging systems, online chat room and bulletin boards, often have private and public communications that are viewable not only by the immediate users, but also by third party users of the social network or Instant Messaging system. These users could be approved or designated friends by a first user to communicate and view other communications from similarly designated friends.
Often in a social network site or Instant Messaging system, a rogue user will write or text an inappropriate message or do an annoying action, such as engaging in an incorrect “poke” to annoy a user or publicly post an unsavory comment about the user.
For example, a first user could have a message wall as in Facebook™ in which the communications from a second user to the first user are displayed and can be viewed by third party users of the social network. The second user may post on this wall inappropriate or objectionable messages. If the messages are private messages only intended for the first user, then the first user may not be overly bothered. If the messages are public messages to be viewed by others such as the third party users, however, then the first user may consider these messages inappropriate for public consumption. Similar instances can occur in an Instant Messaging system in which messages from a second user to the first user are inappropriate and the first user does not want other third party users to see the inappropriate messages and inappropriate content.
One technical solution to this problem of inappropriate messages being posted by the second user on the wall of the first user is to no longer designate the second user as a friend. When this occurs, the second user may not view or post messages on the wall of the first user. This solution could have issues if the second user as a friend is a family member or long-standing close friend who only needs the inappropriate behavior modified in an appropriate manner while discontinuing any public posting of such inappropriate messages and communications.